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One of the workers exposed to radiation in Japan’s Tokaimura nuclear accident
has died. Hisashi Ouchi received around 18 sieverts of radiation when a solution
containing highly enriched uranium went critical
(New Scientist, 9 October 1999, p 4).
He had spent nearly three months in intensive care. A
transfusion of blood stem cells produced new blood cells for a short time,
allowing Ouchi to survive longer than expected. But people who receive more than
5 sieverts usually die.

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